Fall 2019 Preview: Carthage Volleyball

By Chris Parker

Carthage volleyball has a new head coach in Olivia Cooley this season. Cooley, who played at Missouri State, was an assistant in the program last year.

The Carthage volleyball program has won at least 20 matches in six consecutive seasons, but must replace 10 graduated seniors from last year’s squad that finished 28-7.

“Carthage has a great tradition of success and I think the key to continuing that is by continuing to increase the expectations and creating positive senior leadership,” Cooley said.

Seniors Alexa Boyle and Paige Schrader are two of only three players returning for Carthage that saw any varsity sets last year, and the only two that played in more than eight varsity sets.

Boyle will be heavily relied upon after earning first-team all-conference honors as last year. She had 298 kills with a .378 hitting percentage. The senior also led the Lady Tigers in serve-receives (235) and aces (44) while also finishing second in digs (136).

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“Alexa is a very dynamic, physical and competitive player. This translates to great versatility on the court where she continues to increase her court awareness and vision,” Cooley said. “Her experience and leadership is important because she knows the level of play in our conference and district, and she will help hold our young team accountable with high expectations. My expectations for her are to continue to grow her volleyball IQ and court awareness as she grows into a leadership role.”

Schrader led the team with 39 blocks while finishing third on the team with 177 kills last year.

“Paige will bring a lot of experience and speed to our offense. She is quick off the floor both in our transition offense and defensively on the net. She is very competitive as well, and is encouraging our team to be disciplined in our summer training. My expectations for her are to continue to hold the team accountable in a senior leadership role on and off the court,” Cooley said.

Junior Chloe Black will look to step in to replace Graice Fagg at setter. Fagg earned second-team all-conference honors last year after accruing 788 assists.

Behind Boyle and Schrader is a strong group of seniors that will impact the varsity squad for Carthage: Addi Blagg (outside hitter), Chloe Orscheln (defensive specialist), Lauren Gilbreath (middle blocker), Isabelle Howrey (defensive specialist), Kaitlyn Cloud (outside hitter) and Marli Perry (defensive specialist).

Other new varsity players to watch include: junior Grace Schriever (utility hitter) along with Sophomores Olivia Bourgault (defensive specialist) and Sydnee Dudolski (utility hitter).

Cooley is excited to see what this new mix of players can accomplish this season.

“Our expectation is to continue to elevate our growing program to the increasingly competitive district and Central Ozark Conference. We are excited to see this group of seniors grow into leadership roles and take this team to the next level,” Cooley said.

Carthage opens the season on Sept. 3 at McDonald County.